My thoughts on the Phillies season.

The Phils’ offense explodes for six runs in the ninth as they defeat the Cubs for their fourth straight win, 9-2.

The Phils win their fourth straight game for the first time this season as the offense explodes for six runs in the ninth inning as they defeated the Cubs, 9-2.

The Phils took the lead in the second as, with a man on second, and with two men out, Freddy Galvis hits an RBI double, scoring Carlos Ruiz, who had earlier singled, then moved up to second base on John Mayberry, Jr’s soft grounder near the plate, 2-3, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. The Cubs took the lead in the fourth as, with one man on, and with one man out, Alfonso Soriano hits a two-run home run, his second home run of the season, knocking in Bryan LaHair, who had reached second base on Juan Pierre’s two-base fielding error as he allowed LaHair’s fly ball to hit off of his glove, giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead. The Phils would tied the game up at two-all in the fifth as, with two men on, and with one man out, Shane Victorino hits an RBI infield single, beating the throw to first by second baseman Darwin Barney, although replay would show that the umpire might have made a bad call, knocking in Kyle Kendrick, who had earlier singled, then stopped at third base on Pierre’s double, while sending Pierre, who had just doubled, on to third base. The Phils then took the lead in the eighth as, with one man out, a still red hot Ruiz hits a solo home run, his seventh home run of the year, giving the Phils a 3-2 lead. The Phils then put the game away in the ninth as, with the bases loaded, via a double by Galvis, his second of the ballgame, Mike Fontenot being hit by a pitch, and a walk to Jimmy Rollins, moving up a base both Galvis and Fontenot, and with nobody out, Ty Wigginton hits a two-run single, knocking in both Galvis and Fontenot, giving the Phils a 5-2 lead, while sending Rollins up to second base. Four batters later, with the bases once again loaded, after a double steal by Rollins and Wigginton, with Rollins stealing third, and Wigginton stealing second base, and with an intentional walk to Ruiz, and now with two men out, pinch hitter Hector Luna busted the game wide open with a grand slam home run, his first home run of the season, as well as his first hit of the season, scoring Rollins, Wigginton and Ruiz, giving the Phils a 9-2 lead. That would end up being the final score as Raul Valdes pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out LaHair, swinging, for the game’s final out.

Kyle Kendrick received a no-decision as he pitched six innings, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits, as he struck out four. Jose Contreras (1-0, 8.00) got the win as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Antonio Bastardo collected his eighth hold of the year as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two. Raul Vlades pitched a 1-2-3 inning, also striking out two Cubs. Matt Garza also received a no-decision as he went six and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk, as he struck out two. James Russell pitched a third of an inning, walking a batter, while striking out one. Shawn Camp (2-2, 3.43) took the lost as he gave up a run on a hit, as he struck out two. Scott Maine pitched to three batters, getting none of them out, giving up three runs on a hit, a walk and a hit batter. Michael Bowden pitched an inning, giving up three runs on two hits and a walk, while striking out a batter.

The Phils had twelve hits in the game, with Juan Pierre (Single, Double), Carlos Ruiz (Single, Home Run, RBI) and Freddy Galvis (Doubles, RBI), all leading the team with two hits apiece. Jimmy Rollins (Single), Ty Wigginton (Single, 2 RBIs), Shane Victorino (Single, RBI), Kyle Kendrick (Single), pinch hitter Mike Fontenot (Single) and pinch hitter Hector Luna (Home Run, 4 RBIs), had the other six Phils’ hits, with both Fontenot and Luna getting hits in their first official at-bats as a Phil, as the offense decided to break a tight game open in their last at-bat.

The Phils (19-19, 5th East) will be playing the final game of their two-game series with the Cubs (15-22, 5th Central) tonight. The game will be played at Wrigley Field, and is to start at 8:05 pm EDT (7:05 pm CDT). The Phils will send to the mound their ace Roy Halladay (3-3, 3.20), who is coming off a lost against the Padres on May 12, as he pitched seven strong innings, giving up just two runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out ten, in the Phils’ 2-1 lost. Halladay will be out to end his personal three-game losing streak, while trying to lead the Phils to their five straight win. The Cubs will counter with Chris Volstad (0-5, 6.92), who is coming off a lost against the Brewers on May 12, as he pitched six innings, giving up six runs on nine hits and two walks, while striking out a batter, in the Cubs’ 8-2 lost. He will be trying to lead the Cubs to a split. The Phils will be looking for a series sweep before coming back home for their first interleague game series.

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